Valley of Shadows
by JackieOh
Summary: When a premonition names Madison Bishop as the next virgin sacrifice she is put under the watch of Stiles and co. Getting a person to believe in the supernatural is hard enough, but getting a religious, preacher's daughter to? Now there's a challenge. Scott may or may not be doused with holy water… repeatedly. S3 AU Stiles/oc


**Full Summary: **When a premonition names Madison Bishop as the next virgin sacrifice she is put under the watch of Stiles and co. Getting a person to believe in the supernatural is hard enough, but getting a religious, preacher's daughter to? Now there's a challenge. Scott may or may not be doused with holy water… repeatedly. S3 AU

**Author's Note**: Okay, so I've been posting "shorts" regarding this story for a while on my tumblr and finally decided to turn the idea into a real story. But just as a disclaimer- I don't know much about religion and Wikipedia is only so helpful. And so, if I get any theology wrong, please forgive me. I know religion is a sensitive subject and I'll try not to isolate anyone or misrepresent anything. I'm sorry if, despite myself, any one of you are offended. It is truly not my intention. And while religion won't even have a major role (barely even a minor one, really) please let me know if there is anything I need to correct. Okay, now that that is out of the way- I hope you enjoy the story! Please review telling me what you think.

* * *

**Prologue**

Lydia wakes with a scream- no, a _name_- at her throat. She reaches blindly for her cellphone, scrambling for a moment, before finding it tucked between textbooks. She pressed the _2_ and then _send_, waiting impatiently as ringing filled the air. It was late (or early, depending on who you asked) but Stiles would pick up. He'd trained himself to sleep lightly.

"Madison Bishop," she said once the line cleared. "She's the next sacrifice. I-" dreamt it, saw it in a vision, _whatever_- "I know it."

On the opposite side of town, Stiles ran a hand through his perpetually disheveled hair and sighed. "The preacher's daughter?" At Lydia's hum of conscience he released a short, dark laugh. "Of course it is. Okay, let Allison know. I'll call Scott. And Lyd? It'll… be okay."

"That's what you said last time, but Heather still ended up dead." They both winced at the jab. "Sorry. That was uncalled for." But right, and they both knew it. "I'll see you at school."

"Yeah. 'Night."

**Chapter One**

For the life of her, Madison could not get her hair to cooperate. She twisted and brushed and sprayed, but surrendered to the frizz in the end. Her vanity could be salved on other days with less rain and humidity. And so she piled her hair atop her head in a sloppy bun, straightened out her blouse one last time, and called out to her father who was preparing this morning's sermon. "See you later!"

"Be safe," Pastor Bishop replied from his office, worry deeply rooted in his tone. It seemed that every time he watched the news another girl's death was being announced. True the last victim was from a town over, but the fact remained Beacon Hills had another serial killer on their hands. He worried for Madison's safety but, like all people, both he and his daughter had the mentality that it 'would never happen to them.'

After slipping in to her rain coat and grabbing her bag, Madison exited the modest home with a shiver. This autumn was shaping up to me a frigid one, and while snow was rare in this part of NorCal it was obvious the upcoming winter would be harsh. Trying to distract herself from these depressing thoughts, Madison put in her ear buds and turned her phone's volume up to as loud as it would go. And with a hum, she began her trek to BHH; squinting through the fog as she went.

Stiles had planned for this. He knew Madison Bishop walked to school- she was too young to drive and within a mile radius to Beacon Hills High, which meant she hadn't been assigned a bus- so he hatched a plan. Maybe it was a little stalkerish, but it would keep her safe. In the long run, that was all that mattered.

And so, upon catching sight of her bobbing head through the fog, he began driving in her direction. He would offer her a ride, she would accept, and that would be that. Stiles wasn't exactly the most fearsome security detail but it was the most readily available option. He lived the closest, after all. Sending any of the others would have been suspicious. However, what he didn't plan for was Madison's obliviousness. She was too polite to just be ignoring him- the sophomore had the reputation of being an abnormally well-mannered girl- which meant she either didn't notice his slowing down or thought he had another reason to be doing so. She continued to walk, he continued to coast and catch her attention, until Stiles' sleep deprivation got the better of him and he took… _bolder_ action.

Madison jumped at the sound of a blaring horn and nearly tripped over her own feet. She faced the idle blue jeep with wide, frightened eyes while ripping her headphones from her ear. To say she was surprised to see Stiles Stilinski sheepishly waving would be a vast understatement.

"Sorry," he apologized with a grimace. "That was… _louder_ than I expected it to be."

He was cute, she observed with flushing cheeks. Cute and older and _talking to her_. Janie, Madison's best friend, would be absolutely green with envy when she heard about this later. "It's okay. Was there something you wanted or...?"

"Yeah, actually. I just- was just wondering if you wanted a ride. To school. If you wanted me to give you a ride to school." Stiles' offer came across choppy and unsure; a side effect of this morning's Adderall. All the same, Madison found it endearing.

"That would be great," she breathed with relief, already heaving herself into the jeep. "Thanks so much."

It was weird to look at someone and think '_virgin_', Stiles realized. Because that lead to thinking about sex which was a sensitive subject, if he were being honest. Especially since Madison Bishop was a very pretty girl. He pulled himself out of these inappropriate thoughts by focusing on the task at hand. "It's no problem. I mean, it's dangerous to be walking around by yourself with what's been happening."

He was talking about the murders. "You sound like my dad," is what Madison replied.

Stiles grinned and joked, "I sound like _my_ dad."

She didn't doubt that. "How is the sheriff, anyway?"

"Cholesterols a little high, but I'm keeping him away from the curly fries, so." He shrugged and glanced to her out of the corner of his eye. "D'you know him or something?"

Madison seemed to curl into herself at the question. "He and my mom used to work together before…"

"Right," Stiles cringed. "Yeah. Sorry." He'd forgotten about Mrs. Bishop- the receptionist who always sent his dad home with baked goods for him- which was kind of shitty, honestly. It made him feel awful.

"Don't worry about it." They pulled into the parking lot before finding a space beside Lydia's Volkswagen. "Thanks again."

"Yeah, no-"

It was obvious that the topic of her mother's death was highly sensitive from the way Madison raced from the car as if the devil himself was on her heels. Okay, bad analogy since it was basically _true_.

"Yeesh," Scott frowned upon approaching him. "What'd you do?"

"Talk about her dead mother?" Stiles replied with a pinched expression. At his friends' disapproving stare, he hung his head in dejection. "I know."

Clapping him on the back Scott said, "At least you got her here safe."

"I guess."

"Let's go, man. We're gonna be late for class."

The next time Stiles approached Madison four days would come to pass. In the meantime the others- or, more specifically the _werewolves_- were playing guard dogs. Derek followed her to and from school and the rest of his pack accompanied him in rotational shifts. Chris Argent and a few select hunters watched overnight, and Scott had an ear on her whenever possible. Their weakest point was the school day- Madison only shared an art class with Allison and Lydia and lunch with everyone else- or so they thought.

In hindsight, it was stupid to have overlooked the girls' social life.

She was an attractive teenage girl. Of course she would be invited to parties. Of _course_ she world. How that completely slipped Stiles' mind, he'll never know. But there wasn't a thing they could do about it now. Because _now_ all they could do was protect her.

Planning on the fly had never been one of Stiles' strong suits. Usually someone ended up injured ('someone' being Scott) or dead bodies were discovered. He was just lucky that between him, Lydia, and Derek a cohesive (and damn near perfect) plan of action was cooked up. Three heads were infinitely better than one.

Why had it taken them so long to clue Lydia in, again? And why had he been fighting Derek's help for so long? It seemed like so much time had been wasted… But now was not the time to berate himself. He had a mission to complete. That being: Protect Madison Bishop.

Getting invited to Kiera Kats' house party had been easy- being friends with the former Queen Bee (Lydia) had its advantages. While Derek, Boyd, and Erica scouted the perimeter Isaac, Scott and Allison, Lydia and Jackson, and Stiles "infiltrated" the party.

Most people would think a serial killer wouldn't be so bold as to kidnap their victim in a crowded place (i.e.; a house party) but it had already been proven the Darach had no such qualms. She had snatched Heather out of her _own_ birthday bash, after all.

Now was not the time to think about that, either.

And so he approached; cautious, alert, and sheepish. "Madison," he greeted. "You look…"

"Nervous, out of place, short in this dress?" she finished. "Take your pick."

Stiles grinned appreciatively at her self-deprecating humor. "I was gonna say, 'nice'."

"Oh." She hadn't been expecting that. "Thanks. So, what are you doing here?"

Lie. "Being ditched by my friends for their girlfriends." It was believable and, from the look on Madison's face, she empathized.

"Tell me about it. One second Janie's right next to me and the next she and Warren are attached at the lips. But at least I got away before I could be _too_ traumatized."

It was strange, Madison thought, to be holding a conversation with Stiles for the second time this week. Before Monday they had never even spoke, and now he'd gone out of his way to approach her _twice_. She would have been suspicious if she wasn't so thrilled.

"Sucks."

Madison shrugged it off. "What can ya do? And anyway, I was just about to head home. There's really no point in me sticking around."

"You're not walking, are you?" Stiles questioned, mildly disappointed the 'mission' would be over so soon.

"Just to the church. My dad'll give me a ride from there." The church was only a few blocks away, but that didn't mean she would not be tailed. Stiles caught Isaac's eye from across the yard, and the lycaon gave a minute nod; signaling he'd follow her there.

"You want a lift there?"

"And drag you away from all of this?" Madison joked. "No thanks. You look like you could use a good party." She leaned forward then, a mischievous gleam in her eyes that made Stiles' heart race. "Aubrey Phan is giving you The Look by the keg. You should talk to her." And with that, Madison flounced away; throwing a wink over her shoulder as she went.

Huh. The preacher's daughter was a better wingman than Scott. _Who knew?_

* * *

Isaac had this bad habit of overestimating himself. He had yet to learn being a werewolf didn't make you invincible, and so when Madison left the party he followed. Solo. He should have told Derek- he'd get an earful about not doing so later- but he could handle looking after _one teenage girl_.

Like most ambushes, it happened quickly. One second Madison was bending down to pick up her fallen cellphone and the next she was pinned against the Wilson's minivan. A scream tore through her throat so violently she could taste blood.

It was hard to make out her attacker's face even though they were less than two feet away. But even then, she could see its marred complexion and snarled lips. To her it looked demonic- like something straight out of a nightmare. Madison screamed again, this time for help. Isaac answered almost immediately.

Grabbing the Darach by the back of its tattered robes, he yanked it off of Madison with amber eyes. "Run!" he ordered, and she did.

Tripping over herself to get away, Madison sobbed in terror. Prayer fell through her lips rapidly as she sprinted. "O merciful Father who hast taught us in thy holy Word that thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: look with pity upon the sorrows of thy servant for whom our prayers are offered. Remember-"

"_Madison_!"

She halted at the sound of her name, and turned to find Stiles approaching her. At the sight of him, she was instantaneously relieved. But even still- her terror remained. "Stiles," she choked; stumbling over to him on shaky limbs. "We have to- there's this _thing_ and it- we have to _run_!"

An SUV sped toward them before coming to a sharp stop. Allison Argent, a girl in Stiles' grade Madison recognized, leapt from the passenger's side before opening up the back. She had some sort of weapon draped over her back- not a gun but something unrecognizable in this light- and a fierce expression on her face. "Get her in," she commanded, and Stiles nodded with obedience.

Taking Madison by the arm he helped her in before closing the door behind them. While Stiles recognized the man driving as Chris Argent, Madison was hopelessly lost and surrounded by strangers. Her tears dried but her chest continued to heave. "What's going on?" she asked, sounding very young and small.

When no one answered, she continued: "What was that thing? Why did it attack me? Is that- is that what's been killing those girls? And why did you save- what about that boy? Is he okay? I just- I ran and-"

"Isaac's alive," Allison interrupted while giving the younger girl a sympathetic grin. "We'll fill you in on the rest when it's safe. But for now just… sit tight, okay? Try to stay calm."

But how could Madison stay calm? She had noticed Allison's careful word choice: _alive_ and not _okay_. Guilt surged in her chest but she pushed the emotion back with vigor. Now was not the time to panic. "Calm," she repeated. "I can do that."

Stiles watched as Madison collected herself in an instant; wiping her remnant tears away as she steadied her breathing. Given what she'd just witnessed, what she'd just _lived through_, it was nothing short of remarkable.

He placed a hand on her closest knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It'll be okay," he promised. But Lydia's words rang in the back of his mind like sirens. _That's what you said last time_.


End file.
